Her True Love
by 14hpgirl19
Summary: When everyone's memories are returned, Regina Mills remembers exactly what transpired over the past year. This means she remembers how she feels for a certain thief. Now she must find him and make a choice once and for all. But can she do it? Outlaw Queen.


**What I would love to see in the future. I hope you enjoy!**

It happened so suddenly, so fast. Memories of the last year came flooding back for all the citizens of Storybrooke without warning. One second they were still unaware of what had passed; the next, memories were coursing through their minds. They froze where they stood, taking it all in. They felt relief, excitement, and anger towards the person who took the memories away. Many swore revenge.

There was mass hysteria out on the streets. People were running back and forth, calling out to loved ones and sharing what they remembered. A mob was gathering with the intention to track down Zelena – no, the Wicked Witch. She would pay.

Regina Mills was detached from all of this. She was in the Charmings' apartment with them and Emma (Regina still couldn't believe all the scheming she was doing with them). They had been hiding out there while they waited to see if their plan to restore the memories had worked. And clearly, it had.

Snow was horrified to realize the woman who had been helping her through her pregnancy was the same woman who took the past year away from her. She was currently sitting at the kitchen table, head in her hands. Charming was soothing her as best he could while Emma was trying to get answers from them. She was dying to know what had happened during her time away.

Regina was standing still. Her mouth had fallen open slightly, and her hands were clenched tight. The memories that had returned to her were dizzying. She remembered that the Wicked Witch was her sister, but that was not the thing that had her completely shocked. No, it was a completely different person that was consuming her current thoughts.

"Robin…" she whispered without realizing it. Emma looked up.

"What? Is something wrong?" the blonde asked. Regina blinked, as if she was waking up. Snow lifted her head from her arms, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Nothing – nothing's wrong," Regina stammered. Snow's smile grew.

"Regina," she said softly. "You should go. Find him."

Regina gulped, again unconsciously. She hated feeling this off-center. It made her weak. But yet, she couldn't help it.

"No, we have work to do," she tried. "I can't leave now, regardless of whether or not you really want me here."

"_Go_," Snow said forcefully. "You can meet up with us after." Her eyes sparkled. "Go get your happy ending."

Normally those words coming out of Snow's mouth would have prompted a derisive remark from Regina, but she couldn't manage one today. Not when the offer seemed so appealing and possible. Without another word, she ran from the apartment, dashing downstairs and out into the street.

"What the hell just happened?" Emma asked once she was gone.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Snow said giddily.

Regina had never moved so fast. The only exception was when Henry had been in danger over a year ago. She had felt an urgency then, and she felt it now, albeit a different one. Nonetheless, she ran.

She made it to the center of the town and halted. She stood right in front of the clock tower. All around her people were moving back and forth, calling out to friends, reuniting. Regina was breathing hard. She didn't know where he was. She didn't know where to look or how he would respond when she found him. There was always a fear of rejection with Regina, and she felt it quite keenly now.

In a way, she was acting irrationally. They hadn't been a couple before the new curse hit. If anything, their relationship was tense and slow-moving; they had just reached some form of trust by the end.

But Regina was drawn to him. There was something about him that she could not deny, that she could not ignore. And when the truth had been revealed to her right before it all went away, Regina realized she could not avoid it. She didn't want to.

"'Gina!" a tiny voice shouted, startling Regina from her thoughts. She whirled around. She knew that voice. She _loved_ that voice.

"Roland!"

The little boy ran as fast as his short legs could take him. Regina only had seconds to reflect on how adorable he looked in his modern-day clothes before she knelt to the ground and opened her arms wide. Roland moved in between them and threw his arms around Regina's neck. She closed her eyes as she cradled the boy's head, tears beginning to gather. Memories of Roland sitting next to her at dinner filled her mind, along with ones of them playing and of Regina showing him magic. Ever since she had saved him from the flying monkey, Roland had stuck close to her side. They had grown close, and while Regina knew Henry could never be replaced, it was something to fill that void.

"Wha' happened?" Roland whimpered, obviously frightened by the sudden onset of memories. Regina held him tighter.

"Nothing you need to be worried about," she said soothingly. "It's all over now."

She held him for a few more moments before leaning back a bit. Tears streaked Roland's face, and she wiped them off with her thumb, the way she had done several times over the past year. Roland smiled a little, his dimples popping up.

"Where's Papa?" he asked.

"That's what I want to find out," Regina answered.

"He's right here," an accented voice said behind them. Roland let out a shriek of happiness and detached himself from Regina's arms. He ran behind her to his father. Regina's heart leapt. It was now or never. Dusting herself off, Regina stood up slowly. She took a deep breath, then turned around. Robin Hood was there, holding his son in his arms. Regina felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. Robin's eyes met hers, warm and inviting. Happy.

"Hello," she said hesitantly.

"Hello," he repeated.

The last thing she could remember before being transported back to Storybrooke was discovering just who Robin was. She could see it clearly in her mind now. They had been fighting the Witch, and Regina's heart had plummeted when she saw Robin fall. She had run over in a desperate attempt to make sure he was alright. That was when she noticed that the right sleeve of his shirt had ridden up. She could see, with perfect clarity, the lion tattoo on his wrist. The one she had seen on her supposed True Love's wrist way back when Tinker Bell had brought her to that tavern. There was no denying it.

Robin Hood was her True Love.

Regina swallowed. Robin was watching her expectantly. She didn't know what to do, and she hated that. She hated her inability to think clearly.

_But I suppose that's love_, she thought. And she was startled to realize that was exactly what it was.

Stepping up to him, Regina stretched her hand out towards his right wrist. Robin lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. He trusted her. That meant more to Regina than anything else.

She shoved his jacket and shirtsleeve up. There. The tattoo. Her breath hitched in her throat.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked. Regina's head snapped up, tearing her gaze away from his wrist. Her eyes glittered with tears.

"It's you," she whispered. "It's always been…"

"What have I done now?" Robin adjusted his grip on Roland and eyed Regina wearily. He was prepared for a fight, by the looks of it.

"You haven't done anything," insisted Regina earnestly. "This is… this is me."

"Regina, what is going on?" asked Robin concernedly.

Her gaze flitted back to the tattoo. How could she explain this to him? How could she tell him that they were soul mates, and that she just _knew_ it? That was not something someone would take at face value. There had to be more to it.

And what if he didn't feel the same way? What if he looked back on their past year and only saw the Evil Queen? Regina didn't think she could stomach it if he did. She was too invested in this now. The same fear that had washed over all those years ago was creeping back up. She took an unsteady step back, her hand falling from Robin's wrist. Robin made a move as if to stop her, but was unable to due to Roland being in his arms.

"Regina," he said softly. "Tell me. Please."

She shook her head. "I can't."

"_Yes,_ you can." His gaze pleaded with her. "Let me in."

Regina licked her lips. Her hands shook slightly, and she clasped them together in front of her.

"_This is your chance at love and happiness. A fresh start, no baggage."_

"Kiss me."

Robin blinked.

"What?"

"I said kiss me," she said impatiently, sounding very much like the Evil Queen. She wanted to appear more confident than she was. Robin raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless put Roland down.

"This is what you want?"

Regina tilted her head. Was that hopefulness in his voice?

"Yes," she said with a curt nod. Robin smirked.

"Good."

His lips descended on hers, and Regina's fears melted away. His hands settled on her waist, gripping her tightly. Regina's eyes slid closed as she brought her hands up to cradle his face. Everything around them faded; it was just the two of them in that moment.

It was more than she expected. Better than she expected. It was perfect. She was happy.

She was home.

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought! =)**


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